As expected, the Nationals’ top prospect was sent to the back fields yesterday to join his eventual teammates at AAA Syracuse. How long he’ll be in upstate New York remains a mystery, but if you’re this guy…
Asked for the earliest date at which the Nationals could call up Robles and still postpone his free agency another year — a calculation based on accumulation of major league service time — one Nationals official said he hadn’t even thought about it.
… have I got a deal on some Florida real estate for you!
Of course, he hasn’t thought about it… the same way he hasn’t thought about what date is Independence Day or Christmas. Every front office knows what that date is for their top prospects.
As mentioned previously, Robles made this decision easier and less of a farce than Ronald Acuna by struggling over his last few games after starting relatively strong. It may be heresy to suggest this, but it could also be that Robles isn’t quite ready yet.
That really shouldn’t be a surprise: Few 20-y.o.’s are ready for The Show after just 37 games at AA, zero at AAA, and less than 360 games total. Even Acuna has put in more time at AA (57 games) and AAA (54 games). That’s what makes players like Bryce Harper and Mike Trout so special – particularly in this current era where service-time manipulation is not tolerated, it’s celebrated.
I return you to your snowy Wednesday, which in the D.C. area, probably means working from home. Those of you who have to do it with small children may be inspired to work on your novel.
